Russia protest leader sentenced to 5 years in prison for embezzlement
A Russian court on Thursday sentenced political activist and lawyer Alexei Navalny to five years in prison for embezzling USD $500,000 from a state-owned timber company. Navalny, a strong critic of President Vladimir Putin [official website, in...
Russia court rejects appeal by feminist rock group Pussy Riot
A Russian court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by members of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot against their sentence for a protest against Vladimir Putin . Last year the group was convicted...
A Russian court on Thursday denied parole for Maria Alekhina, a member of the feminist rock band Pussy Riot . Band members Alekhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich were sentenced to two years...
UN rights expert urges Russia to ensure independent judiciary
The UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Gabriela Knaul, urged Russia on Thursday to address concerns surrounding impartiality in the judicial system, while noting the positive strides taken recently. Knaul visited Russia as part...
A Russian court on Friday denied a request for parole by Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of the feminist rock band Pussy Riot , so that she could look after her young daughter. In August Tolokonnikova...
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday criticized for limiting freedom of speech since Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency. HRW's report calls the restrictive laws "unprecedented" in Russia's post-Soviet history. Amnesty...
Russia lower house approves bill criminalizing actions against religious groups
The Russian State Duma on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to a bill that criminalizes negative actions towards religious groups and imposes stiff prison terms and fines on offenders. The legislation criminalizes...
Russia feminist rock group appeals conviction to Europe rights court
Russian feminist rock band Pussy Riot on Wednesday filed a complaint in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) challenging their conviction. They contend that their conviction violates four articles...
Russia court denies feminist rock group appeal of Internet ban
A Moscow City Court on Wednesday denied an appeal by Russian feminist rock group Pussy Riot , continuing a ban on the group's videos from the Internet. The court deemed ...
Russia court denies sentencing deferral for imprisoned feminist rocker
The City Court of Berezniki, Russia on Wednesday denied the appeal of an imprisoned member of the feminist rock band Pussy Riot to defer serving her sentence for hooliganism until...
